Flora and Fauna: Neville and Luna's Tale
by floralfluxcapacitor
Summary: Under Umbridge's violent reign the halls of Hogwarts have been stripped bare of love and affection, Chapter by Chapter this story follows two unlikely fighters, Neville and Luna, as they wage their own little war on the Inquisitorial Squad. They face romance, pain and magic that transcends the walls of Hogwarts itself.
1. Luna and the Floo Fae

Chapter One – Luna and the Floo Fae.

If you were to wonder through the Hogwarts grounds, not the rolling open hills so incessantly frequented by Hogwarts students but the shadowy areas, the space behind the wamping willow, now battered and gnarled, or the fringes of the forbidden forest, you would find her. Luna.

At that moment she was crouched within the ruins of an old barn that had kept thestrals back before Hagrid had trained them, the students rarely went there because the place had the eerie quality of creatures who were seen only by death's witnesses. But Luna did not mind. She was not, at that moment, looking for the crumple horned snorcack. She was squatting low, hands outstretched, with pixies dancing on her fingers. These were not the pesky Cornish pixies Lockhart had freed in her first year, this were a far more noble race. These were the indigenous pixies who hid among the relics of the wizarding world, who were sometimes found fossilised by muggles and would create stirrings of controversy with muggle historians.

They were finer, daintier with hoary grey wings like cobwebs and spindly limbs. They relished the warmth of Luna's fingers, latent so long among the chilly ruins. But if Luna moved too quickly they would dissipate into dry dust and fly away on the breeze. Xenopheleus had told her:

"fine friends makes the Floo Faeries, but don't antagonise them Luna, ever. They make powerful foes."

Neville Longbottom had been looking for the Monday flower, for Herbological reasons, but unfortunately it was irreconcilably a Sunday, so his chances were slim, that didn't stop him. His search brought him to the stable were Luna was crouched and from a crumbling archway he peered in. in the Sunday dusk, light filtered in through the cracks in the rafters and amongst a confetti of dust mots she crouched in the light peering at her own hands like they were the eighth wonder. It took Neville a minute to see the pixies. One was nestled into her tumbling blonde hair, leaving dust in her tresses as it made itself at home. She was covered in pixie dust, her green jumper, already bedraggled, was now covered in the stuff, and her satchel... Neville looked closer and saw that with her free hand Luna was gently scooping up the dust the pixies left behind and putting it in her satchel.

At exactly the wrong moment Neville leaned against a creaking wooden hinge and alerted Luna of his presence. The pixies flew up into the rafters with a shower of yet more dust. Luna swiftly got to her feet, her wide eyes wider in surprise and a little fear.

"who's there?" her sing song voice chimed with alarm and suspicion.

Neville stepped reluctantly out from the doorway

"Neville."

she pressed a finger to her lips and quite to Neville's surprise she took his hand and crouched with him once more.

Lifting her face to the rafters she said "it's okay, it's just Neville, the least alarming of surprises..."

_Just Neville. Always just Neville_

"what are you doing?" he hesitantly inquired, it seemed the most suitable question.

"what are you doing?" she deflected.

"looking for the Monday flower."

"but it's Sunday."

"I know."

"you looked anyway?"

"I couldn't just... not look..."

"floo powder."

"what?"

now Neville was confused(er)

"have you ever wondered where floo powder comes from?"

"I guess I haven't..."

"when I was six I trod on a pixie accidentally and it turned my whole left foot to stone up to my knee cap."

it occurred to Neville that this conversation was very hard to follow

"but you're left leg is normal now."

"yes it is. Luckily my father knew an affective counter charm"

"...you were talking about floo powder?" said Neville quizzically in an attempt to steer the conversation back on track.

"yes, well, the Floo Pixies, they produce floo power, but nowadays what with the high demand they are often battery farmed. It's brutal and inhumane, so as well as regular petitioning my family always humanely collects their own floo powder, but don't tell anyone because professor Umbridge has banned it..."

this was the most Neville had ever heard Luna say, it occurred to her that apart from her erratic subject changes nothing she had said rendered her befitting of the name "Loony Lovegood"

"stay very still for a minute." she was whispering now.

Her blue eyes were trained on his right shoulder and as he cast his eyes down to his jacket he saw a delicate little figure perched their, already shedding floo powder. Ancient grey eyes stared back at him and he felt the weight of the ages on his shoulders, manifested in a creature the six inches tall.

She was staring at him, but he was not uncomfortable with her prominent blue eyes trained on him.

"they like you, you're gentle."

"how did you know where to find them?"

"I guess I know where to look, you can find friends in the flora and fauna if not in Hogwarts itself"

Neville cast his eyes down, there was a solemn beauty in that, he thought, and felt a pang of anguished guilt for any time the bashful Griffyndors had laughed about Loony Lovegood's wild habits.

Luna gave a sudden squeak of surprise as a Floo pixie boldly pulled a tiny fist full of hair towards Neville. In her crouched position Luna lost her balance and fell forward onto her knees so he was closer to her than he'd ever been.

He felt like he should be self conscious but this was such a private, magical moment he didn't dare.

It was queer, he thought that in a school so teaming with magic, he was still awed by nothing more than a few stolen seconds with a strange girl and her fae friends.

**THANKS SO MUCH FOR READING! 3 PLESAE DO REVIEW AND TELL ME WHAT YOU THINK AND STUFF, IT STARTS PRETTY FLUFFY I KNOW BUT THE ACTION WILL ESCALATE AS UMBRIDGE STICKS HER NOSE IN ETC. SORRY IT'S A LITTLE LONG AND ALL :)**


	2. The Lake

Chapter 2

Neville, although he wouldn't admit it to himself, was looking for her again. Maybe, he thought, she was like the room of requirement. He had tried the stables and although he could almost sense the Floo Pixies staring from the rafters, her quiet, quizzical presence was not to be felt. Now he was wondering between the forest's ominous borders and the marshy terrain preceding the lake.

Suddenly shouts prevailed upon his ears, not anything from Luna, these were male voices. Subconsciously Neville softened his tread as much he could as he made his way further into the trees. He trecked a little way, carefully by-passing the enormous limbs the trees had thrown about the place in slumberous abandon. He followed the obnoxious laughter.

When he was little his grandmother had told him, as a rare compliment, that he had green fingers. His first sign of magic had been when the flowers he'd been playing in had suddenly shot up and grown huge, bulbous heads which moved even on a breeze-less day.

When he got to the clearing Neville knew something was wrong. He immediately spotted the malicious gleam of blonde hair lingering on the edge of the clearing. Malfoy. He crouched suddenly so he could see but not be seen seeing. It was Malfoy, Crabbe and Goyle, standing next to what Neville knew to be a Verita Tree. Verita Trees were a very rare form of spirit, static for centuries, taking the form of towering trees, rooted in reality, protected by the Ministry of Magic. Malfoy was massacring them, with the help of his goons.

"Diffindo!" Malfoy raised his wand and aimed at an ancient looking Verita Tree. His severing spell hit the tree which caved inwards, recoiling from the impact. Neville watched in horror as the tree's bark was blasted off and it fell to the ground with an audible screech of pain as Malfoy skinned it.

"Umbridge'll have a field day!" Crabbe and Goyle were gleeful as they stashed the valuable bark. Neville realised it must have been due to Umbridge's commissioning that the Slytherins were killing them. Verita Trees were famously sought after because of their use in Veritaserum, Umbridge's favourite means of forcefully exploiting her students.

Malfoy laughed, basking in Crabbe and Goyle's dire admiration at his violence. He raised his wand to disembowel another tree but Neville couldn't take it anymore, without even thinking about it he was shouting "expelliarmus!" and malfoy was spinning to the ground and his wand was torn from his hand and Crabbe and Goyle had spotted him where he hid. "Expelliarmus!" Neville tried again desperately, this time aiming at the rapidly attacking Crabbe and Goyle. Although the spell hit Crabbe it had no affect and Neville realised in panicked dismay that both the thugs had discarded their wands of their own accord and were instead rolling up their sleeves menacingly. Before he knew it Goyle had darted (as swifly as a boy of his immense size could dart) behind him placed a tree trunk sized arm around his neck. Although Neville exceeded Goyle in height it was two against one. Malfoy at this point had recovered and was looking at Neville with a mixture of hatred and amusment. He slowly reached out and took Neville's wand from the ground.

"Longbottom."

"Malfoy." Neville croaked.

"You spying on us Longbottom?"

"They're ministry protected" Neville managed to choke out

"What the bloody trees?"

Neville tried a nod

"I hardly think you're in a position to be concerned about the trees, Longbottom. Besides, we are, indirectly, comissioned by a branch of the ministry. No pun intended."

he felt Goyle shake with laughter, at the expense of his airways.

"What will happen to him, boys?" Malfoy asked "A swim perhaps?"

Malfoy laughed and punched him in the face.

When Neville's vision cleared he was being pushed through the last of the trees, onto the marshy outskirts of the Hogwarts lake.

That was when he saw her.

She looked up in surprise as the three Slytherins and the trouble-steeped Gryffindor stumbled out onto the bank. Malfoy was the first to notice her.

"Well if it isn't Loony Lovegood, come to enjoy the show?"

Luna spoke quietly so that Crabbe and Goyle were forced to stifle their sniggers.

"What's going on?"

Malfoy stepped close to her, a little too close, but although Luna's eyes widened she did not flinch.

"Longbottom here made and unwarranted attack on us while we undertook our ministerial duties".

"And?" this was remarkably direct for Luna

"We thought we would take justice into our own very capable hands. Throw him in the lake."

Neville knew this was not to be a ritual soaking, that would be very deviant from Malfoy's style. The Hogwarts lake was not to be taken lightly, in its shallows, and in its depths, lurked unimaginable beasts and monsters.

Goyle, with the help of Crabbe, began to wrestle Neville, lanky limbs flailing, to the edge of the lake.

"Draco stop!"

everyone blanched. Luna had called Malfoy by his first name, which was not at all customary but got his attention.

"I... I won't let you."

there was a stunned silence as Luna drew herself up to her full height, brought her wand up and pointed it at his chest. Malfoy, once again, gave a derisive laugh.

"Isn't that sweet, the crazies are standing up for each other, well if you have a death wish too Lovegood then what can I say, I aim to please."

with a very casual flick of his wand Malfoy send an incarceration curse flying at Luna but, surprisingly quickly she defected it. Malfoy blanched at she sent back another one which he almost failed to deflect. Neville struggled in Goyle's grip in his efforts to help Luna and with a resounding and satisfying crack he head butted Goyle squarely in the nose, freeing himself.

This did not have the desired affect. Neville ran towards Luna and in the split second it took for Luna to make eye contact with him Malfoy gained the upper hand and cuffed Luna's shoulder with a stunning spell. It was enough to send her sprawling.

"Stupify! Stupify!" Neville was so angry he could barely get the words out, so angry the spell was not working... he was desperate, so panicked he couldn't concentrate sufficiently

"Give it up, Longbottom. You're nothing but a pathetic Squib!"

Malfoy was dragging the groggy Luna to her feet and now pulling her by the hair towards the edge of the lake and as Neville watched he heard "levicorpus!" from behind him, turning just as the spell hit him hard in the chest.

"Longbottom can watch his girlfriend go for a swim...!"

all Neville could think as he hung helpless upside down was that Luna could never be his girlfriend, she was too pretty...

Malfoy held Luna by the shoulders and pushed her roughly into the lake. She did not scream but landed with a splash. Everyone waited with baited breath, she did not reach the service for at least 2 minutes. Two excruciating minutes. Then a scream that almost transcended human hearing pierced all their ears.

Neville watched as a figure sprang from the waters of the lake.

It was a mermaid. and in her arms she held Luna, a bedraggled puppet lying almost limp were it not for the raking gasp she emitted, fighting for air.

She laid Luna on the bank very tenderly. Her talons were the first and most immediate threat, not what one would perhaps expect of a mermaid, but nevertheless their main hunting tool. Her tale too was not, as mythology indicated, humanly proportioned, but a long powerful thing which she whipped vehemently, frothing the lake's waters into foam. Her hair flared, showing no sign of being water logged and her face was entriely inhuman. Shark's teeth. Neville noted. Her long claws gripped the river bank and Neville watched in awe as her tail lashed around and swept Draco off his feet and into the shallows of the lake. Crabbe and Goyle withdrew their attention from Neville and Luna and ran to help fish out Malfoy before any of the lakes inhabitants noticed him.

Neville was willing to run immediately while they were off the hook, but Luna was still gasping on the bank and lingered painfully behind.

"Aerwyna?" she rasped

the lake still frothed, it's waters agitated... further up the bank they could see Malfoy sloshing out of the lake and commencing a sopping wet sprint away from the lake in fear.

"Aerwyna?" Luna's clothes were sticking to her, her blonde hair hung in sopping rats tails around her pale face and Neville could see her begin to shiver. He hated Malfoy. What had Luna ever done?

a head arose once more from the waters, eyes like a fish but more alive, and streaming blue hair.

Her voice was low and rasping, like the a wave coming in

"My Luna... My Moonchild."

"Thank you so much Aerwyna, that could've got nasty."

Neville marvelled, this was yet more of Hogwart's wild inhabitants that Luna had connected with.

"Why were those Sons of Salazar trying to hurt you, child?"

"well I was protecting Neville here and..."

Aerwyna cast her cold aqua eyes on Neville fleetingly,

"a child of Rowena protecting a child of Gryffindor... "

Aerwyna was already sinking back into the lake's depths

"Thank you Aerwyna! How can I repay you?" shouted Luna again.

"There is much you can do to repay me, Moonchild..."

And with that the mermaid was gone.

**NEXT CHAPTER COMING SOON. PLEASE REVIEW. THANK YOU SO MUCH FOR READING 3**


	3. The Consequences

Neville's grandmother, with a firm, ring bound, gnarled hand, had taught him chivalry. He helped Luna to her feet were she still knelt, soaking on the bank of the Hogwarts lake.

"you're cold, Luna, let me..." he went to take off his jacket but was startled when she first began to take off her sopping t-shirt which was sticking to her. He blanched at the sight of her pale torso suddenly exposed and immediately turned away awkwardly removing his jumper and holding it out behind him without looking. Luna didn't seem to understand his awkwardness, Xenophelius had raised her not to feel ashamed or self conscious, he said all bodies were the same except some were more fragile. When Luna had shrugged safely into his jumper he turned back around and immediately blushed afresh as his grandmother's poor excuse for an orange cable knit hung loosely from Luna's shaking shoulders and swamped her hands in it's garish orange folds. She stared at him and then smiled very unexpectedly.

"so what was that all about? They seemed pretty upset with you..."

At this Neville could only laugh because he had never encountered a girl who could brush off a dunking in Hogwarts lake so bashfully and with such wild understatements. Then he remembered what Malfoy had been doing to the Verita tree and frowned.

"they were poaching from the Verita Trees."

Luna's wide eyes grew solemn and her quizzical smile faded.

"how dare they?"

"are you ok?" he shot back, watching her hug herself.

"just a little startled, that's all..."

without thinking he hugged her.

That self conscious part of him, the part of him that minded being the constant butt of every joke, was scared lest she might withdraw from his embrace, tell him he shouldn't go near her. But he was surprised and delighted when she hugged him back, drawing from his warmth. Her head rested on his shoulder and her didn't mind in the slightest when her hair dripped on his shirt.

"we'll get them back, Luna, you and me."

later:

she had kept the jumper which he was very glad about because it was an excuse to see her. He liked seeing her wear it, it linked the two of them and he liked the way her narrow fingers subconsciously played with the frayed sleeves and the way it would smell of her afterwards. Was he creepy? Maybe. Did he care? Probably not.

"Hello Clarissa" he smiled sheepishly up at the Fat Lady, you'd be surprised how few Griffyndors actually bothered to learn her real name, and consequently she harboured a secret soft spot for Neville to the extent that Fred and George had started to ask when their engagement was.

"Neville, darling, what by in the name of the Nargles have you been up to?!" Neville smiled at the mention of Nargles

"I was... held up with a girl."

"Neville! Dear boy do you mean to say you are courting? Why by Merlin's beard did you not tell me earlier I could have given you tips!"

"I don't know if she likes me, Clarissa, I'm... I'm "_just Neville"._"

"Neville she'd be mad not to. Not a Slytherin is she?"

He thought of how pure and good Luna was.

"She's the kindest girl I know"

the fat lady cocked her head, crooned and fussily rearranged the ruffles on her meringue shaped dress

"Neville you've been the sweetest little dumpling since first year, I know you'll do right by her and if she has any sense she'll see what a dear you are."

"Thanks Clarissa."

He paused

"I may have forgotten the password though..."

she tutted and told him to straighten his collar before swinging open to reveal the Griffyndor common room.

That night Neville sat in a warm corner of the common room eating toast and only speaking fleetingly to Seamus who asked why he was only wearing a shirt in December. He couldn't stop thinking about her. He wondered why all the other boys (and some girls) weren't constantly hung up on Luna Lovegood. He tried to logically list all the things that made him like her.

Her gentleness.

Her affinity with the flora and fauna of Hogwarts.

Her tousled blonde hair, part of which she seemed to have once intricately plaited before leaving it entirely to its own devices.

Her large green grey eyes.

Her timid but very caring smile.

Her Irishness.

The way she was subtly a genius.

Her boundless capacity for belief, whether it be in the mythical, in herself or in others.

|Her laugh.

Her courage, not brash like Griffyndor, but the hidden fire he'd seen only a flash of today.

Still later:

something went bump in the night. Seamus had made him watch Paranormal Activity and although at first he scoffed at the Muggles twisted televisation of poltergeists and ghosts it had creeped him out just enough that he opened sleep clouded eyes when he heard the floor boards creaking. He shuffled as quietly as he could into half a sitting position. Neville's blood ran cold and his heart gave a frantic leap in his chest when he saw a skulking figure enter the dormitory and loom over his bed...


	4. The Intruder

**A dreamer is one who can only find her way by moonlight, and her punishment is that she sees the dawn before the rest of the world.**

The Intruder.

"Lumos!" white light immediately sprang out of his wand tip and it took a moment for Neville's eyes to accustom to the sudden brightness. His brown eyes trained themselves on his own orange jumper. His brain, addled by midnight's wearying passage, took a minute to receive the information before his eyes travelled up to meet the eyes of his intruder. The green grey eyes of his intruder. Moonlight stripped even more of the colour from Luna's face, she looked like an old black and white photograph, her white blonde hair was even more dishevelled and her eyes were tired and red rimmed. Under he jumper she wore a mid-thigh tartan night dress in the colour of Ravenclaw's studious blue, a pair of large fluffy slippers and an anxious expression.

"Neville, if I had chest hair I'd be in trouble."

"s-sorry..." he released his firm grip on her- well... _his_ jumper.

He didn't know what to say except that either she was summoned by his thoughts (which would be embarrassing) or that whatever their situation was it had escalated quickly.

"How did you get in?!" asked Neville. Luna looked sheepish.

"The Fat Lady caught me trying to enter the common room and so I told her I was hear for you and... it was quite odd, she smiled and told me I was pretty and not to let you take liberties..."

Safe to say Neville blushed again.

"Don't listen to Clarissa, she's a drunk. Luna, it's not that I'm not pleased to see you (he was very pleased) but what are you doing here?"

"I'm here because-" Ron gave a snort and turned over vehemently in his sleep taking his quilt with him and becoming entangled and disgruntled. Luna glanced at him furtively, stopping her explanation mid sentence. She continued on in an even more hushed whisper so that Neville was forced to lean closer in order to hear her.

"I'm here because of this."

she reached up to her throat and drew a pendant from around her neck, tied with a rough piece of string. A golden egg hung from it. Neville suppressed a sharp intake of breath because he had seen something very like this before. He winced as he remembered the TriWizard tournament and how he thought he might have killed Harry Potter...

This egg was the exact same iridescent gold as the one Harry had briefly shown him except for the fact that it was much smaller. It was about the same size as a quail's egg, not as large as a chicken's.

"Luna how did you get that?"  
she cast her eyes down momentarily

"it was my mother's. Neville, Aerwyna is in trouble, they all are."

"what?"

"I got a message from her, the egg started pulsing, not like in the tri-wizard thingy, she wanted me to get the message, we made friends in third year when I stopped Filch from dumping rubbish in the lake."

"so she wanted to speak to you? What did she say?"

Ron gave another loud, almost derisive snore

Luna looked troubled half out of her mind and whipped round her head and when she looked back Neville saw her eyes were filled with water, shining so they looked like the surface of the lake.

"Umbridge wants to cull the mermaids, she wants to get rid of all the half-breeds of Hogwarts and I can't stop her on my own but nobody cares! I'm just Loony Lovegood and everybody thinks this is just another of my crazy conspiracy theories. I tried to tell the other Ravenclaws but they just laughed. Even Cho said it was clearly another of my fantasies. Ravenclaw is no place for the illogical and yet it is were I, to my detriment, dwell."

_Just Neville. Just Loony Lovegood._

Neville realised that he was not the only one who felt like people only saw one side of him. This was incredibly important to Luna, he could see that.

Neville reached up and put a long finger on Luna's cheek, catching a tear where it wobbled on it's way down, catching the moonlight.

Just as their eyes met there came a violent coughing sound.

"Neville?" came Dean's muffled voice to the left.

He was awake. Luna stood from where she crouched by his bed, looking like a bewildered woodland creature, ready to flee. Neville knew they only had a matter of seconds before Dean reached for his wand to see what was going on. If he drew the curtains around his bed now Dean would be yet more suspicious. Instead he flung back the covers of his patchwork quilt and beckoned for Luna to conceal herself. She dived in and he had to hastily fling both arms around her waste to prevent her falling out. He could feel her holding her breath.

"Neville, you awake?"

He saw Dean's wand cast a low light over the dormitory.

There was a long pause. Eventually to prevent Dean's further investigation he hesitantly answered

"yes." all Dean could see was the shape his body made around Luna's, silhouetted in the dim light.

"Why did I dream you were talking to a girl?"

"I don't know, that's a ridiculous notion..."

he could tell Luna was smiling

"go back to sleep, Dean."

"okay."

After a minute or so Luna emerged from under the quilt and turned quietly around to face him. He didn't think he'd ever been this close to anyone.

"well this is quite the logistical pickle, isn't it?" whispered Luna after a while.

Neville smiled and so did Luna, he could see his eyes reflected back in hers. She's stopped crying.

"So how are we going to stop Umbridge?"

"You'll help me?" she asked, peering at him through her eyelashes.

"I'd help you find the Crumple Horned Snorcack if you asked me to"

"That's so romantic." (who knew Luna could do sarcasm?) ((was it sarcasm?))

After a minute her ironic smirk faded.

"I don't know how we're going to stop her."

"We will. Somehow."

if you were to look into the dormitory that night, your eyes would quite bypass Harry Potter, lying peaceful and solitary in his bed. Instead you would see Neville Longbottom and Luna Lovegood. Embracing in the furtive hours of early morning. Eventually you would see Neville pluck up all his courage and lean in to meet her lips with his. You would hear her sigh almost wistfully, kissing him back ardently, before rising and departing before the dawn, and rowdy Griffyndors, broke the spell.


	5. Thirteen Things

Chapter 5 – 13 Things Neville Observed about Luna Lovegood:

She smells like lavendar (not the kind of stale oily lavender water his gran wore, but the kind of lavender that grows with wild abandon on heath all over Britain.) She also smells like wool and Petrichor.

She can be very witty when she's comfortable enough

Very few people notice but under her robes she sports very colourful, ridiculously patterned tights.

Her favourite colour is forgetmenot blue

Xenophelious Lovegood once introduced her to experimental muggle music like Stornoway, David Bowie and Keaton Henson. Now she's hooked.

Paradoxically she loves cats, but is allergic.

She's better at quiddich than one might imagine. Even better at commentating.

She too has read Hogwarts: A History thoroughly but she doesn't go on about it.

Contrary to her earring choice she hates radishes.

She's insecure.

She sometimes uses her eccentricity to protect herself, even distance herself.

She's the bravest person he knows.

He is in love with her. It happened fast and he did not see it coming.


	6. Blink

**BLINK**

I let my eye wonder

Tendrils of humility stretch facetted fingers

mentally I explore your broad frame

strength and hard lines

hidden by self-deprication

my desire is prying between my eyelashes

Before I

Blink Blink Blink

Transfixed by your straight jawline

Jutting immediacy

A sloping unfaultable ledge of uninhibited seraphic architecture

You were never afraid to be in sight

Inspite of "_Just Neville" _the pathetic epithet

Brown eyes glint with a green tint

Before you

Blink Blink Blink

And cast your ember glow

Back to my grey green blink stare blink

I am smothered, unaware,

In your stoic smile as the seas part

And your eyes flourish and crease and peep

And you blink

twinklingly

And I blink

Unthinkingly

eyes watering

From staring to hard.

A poem by Luna Lovegood

(to Neville Longbottom)


End file.
